West Papuans are wondering why one young man is facing charges for occupying the roof of the Indonesian Consulate in Melbourne for sixty seconds, while Indonesia has never been prosecuted for occupying their homeland with genocidal policies for sixty years. “Why is the Australian Government using all these resources—police time, judges time, court space, lawyers fees—against a spontaneous symbolic protest, which the Indonesian Consul didn’t even notice until he saw it on Facebook” said Jacob Rumbiak from the Federal Republic of West Papua office in Docklands.

Dr Rumbiak believes the young roof-sitter’s act of civil disobedience was illegal, but barely culpable compared to Indonesia’s crimes against humanity in West Papua which he was seeking to draw attention to (see, for example, The Neglected Genocide by the Asian Human Rights Commission based in Hong Kong).

Supporters protesting outside the Magistrates Court between 9 and 11am include: Ballarat Friends of West Papua, Maritime Union of Australia, West Papua Rent Collective, Australia West Papua Association, FRWP Office in Docklands, The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, and the Ballarat and West Victoria Trades Hall.